Golf club with two hitting faces



Dec. 17, 1968 w. c. PENNINGTON 3,416,798

GOLF CLUB WITH TWO HITTING FACES Filed my a, 1965 United States Patent3,416,798 GOLF CLUB WITH TWO HITTING FACES William C. Pennington, Rte.5, Salem, Ind. 47167 Filed July 8, 1965, Ser. No. 470,510 4 Claims. (Cl.273-80) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A golf club comprising a headprovided with a pair of elongated hitting faces on the opposite sidesthereof with their longitudinal axes transverse toeach other. A pair oftrapezoidal sole faces are formed on a pair of adjacent sides of thehead and extend between the hitting faces. A shaft is fixedly connectedto the head so that with the club in hitting position with one of thesole faces on the ground and an adjacent hitting face in operativeposition the handle merely need be rotated 180 about its axis to disposethe other sole face on the ground with the other hitting face inoperative position. Thus, the club provides a pair of different hittingfaces which can be employed without the golfer changing his stance orswing.

This invention relates to a golf club, and more particularly to a golfclub having a pair of hitting faces.

It is an object of my invention to provide a golf club having a pair ofhitting faces selectively movable into operative position, which can bequickly and easily manipulated to dispose the desired hitting face inoperative position, and which will be properly balanced when either ofsaid hitting faces is in operative position.

In carrying out my invention in its preferred form, I provide a shaftconnected at one of its ends to a head having first and second hittingfaces disposed on opposite sides thereof. First and second sole facesare provided on the head on faces adjacent said first and second hittingfaces, respectively. The shaft angles upwardly from the head at a pointintermediate the pair of hitting faces whereby with said first hittingface in operative position and the first sole face presented downwardly,the second hitting face can be moved into operative position with thesecond sole face presented downwardly. If the second hitting face is inoperative position, the first hitting face can be brought into operativeposition by again rotating the shaft 180 in either the same or theopposite direction about its axis.

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent fromthe more detailed description which follows and the accompanyingdrawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a golf club embodying my in vention with one ofits hitting faces disposed in operative position;

FIG. 2 is an end elevation of the club shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a rear elevation of the club shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is afront elevation of the club shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the club in FIG. 1 rotated 180 about the shaftaxis to dispose its other hitting face in operative position; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the club head shown in FIG. 1.

My invention as shown in the accompanying drawing comprises a golf clubproviding a pair of hitting faces, desirably of different loft or pitch,for use by either a right-handed or left-handed player, the clubillustrated being for use by a right-handed player. As shown, the clubcomprises a shaft 10 connected to my novel club head 12, which head canbe formed of plastic, wood, metal, or other suitably durable materials.The head 12 is generally six-sided and is provided with a pair ofhitting faces 13 and 14 forming a pair of opposed faces of the head. Asshown, faces 13 and 14 are substantially planar surfaces of a generallyrectangular shape with their longitudinal axes transversely orientedwith respect to each other.

Each of the hitting faces is provided with longitudinally extendingscore lines 16 to facilitate controlling the flight of the ball as isthe practice in conventional club heads. As is practice in conventionalwood clubs, when the head is formed of plastic or wood, a strike plate18 of a durable material adapted to withstand repeated impacts with theball is recessedly mounted in each of the hitting faces, as by recessedcrews '20, with its outer face c0- plan'ar with its associated hittingface.

Extending between the hitting faces 13 and 14 is a pair of sole faces 22and 23 having a common edge 24 and constituting a pair of adjacent faceson the head. As shown, each of the sole faces is planar throughout itsextent and has a generally trapezoidal configuration. The several facesare oriented on the head to dispose the sole face 22 in a downwardlypresented position when the face 13 is in striking position and the soleface 23 in a downwardly presented position when the face 14 is instriking position. As best shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, with the hitting andsole faces having the configurations and orientations shown, one pair ofthe ends of the sole face 22 terminate along an elongated edge of thehitting face 13 and a short edge of the hitting face 14 and a pair ofthe ends of the sole face 23 terminate along an elongated edge of thehitting face 14 and a short edge of the hitting face 13. If the head isformed of wood or plastic, it is desirable to mount a metal sole plate25, as by recessed screws 26, in a recessed position in each of thefaces 22 and 23 with its outer face coplanar with the sole face.

The included angles between the hitting face 13 and sole face 22 andbetween the hitting face 14 and sole face 23 are normally acute anddetermine the angle of loft or the pitch of the hitting faces 13 and 14,respectively. Desirably, the angles between the hitting faces and theirassociated sole faces are different so that the user will have twohitting faces of different loft angles on the same head giving him ineffect two different clubs on a single shaft. Any desired combination ofangles between the hitting faces and their associated sole faces can beemployed to give any desired combination of lofts to the two hittingfaces. For example, the loft of face 13 could be the same as aconventional two iron while the loft of face 14 could be the same as aconventional four iron, or the face 13 could have a loft correspondingto a conventional driver while the face 14 could have a loftcorresponding to a conventional four wood, etc. It may also be desiredto have a substantially right angle between one of the hitting faces andits associated sole face so that said hitting face will provide a putterface.

Another pair of faces 27 and 28 extend between the hitting faces 13 and14 and form the adjacent top and rear faces of the head. In theillustrated embodiment, each face 27 and 28 has a generally trapezoidalshape. The face 27 has a common edge 29 with face 13, a common edge 30with face 14, and a common edge 31 with face 23. The face 28 has acommon edge 32 with face 22. The faces 27 and 28 abut each other alongan edge 35, which can be contoured for streamlining.

The lower end of the shaft 10, which is connected to the head, anglesupwardly from the edge 35 at a point intermediate the hitting faces 13and 14. Said shaft is of a length sufficient to accommodate use ofhitting faces 13 and 14 by a user when he is in his normal playingstance and posture. The shaft will, of course, be provided at its upperend with a conventional grip portion not shown in the drawing.

With the club in the position illustrated in FIG. 1, the hitting face 13is in its operative position for striking a ball, with the sole face 22presented downwardly. If it is desired to bring the hitting face 14 intooperative striking position, it is merely necessary to rotate theshaft 1. A golf club, comprising a head having first and secondgenerally rectangular hitting faces disposed on opposite sides thereof,each of said hititng faces when it is in operative position havingrelatively elongated upper and lower edges and relatively short frontand rear edges, first and second generally trapezoidal sole faces havinguninterrupted surfaces disposed on adjacent sides of said head, saidfirst hitting face and first sole face being disposed on a pair ofadjacent sides of said head and said second hitting face and second soleface being disposed on another pair of adjacent sides of said head, apair of the ends of said first sole face terminating respectively alongan elongated edge of said first hitting face and a short edge of saidsecond hitting face and a pair of the ends of said second sole faceterminating respectively along an elongated edge of said second hittingface and a short edge of said first hitting face, the included anglebetween said first hitting face and first sole face being different thanthe included angle between said second hitting face and second soleface, and an upwardly projecting shaft fixedly connected to said headwhereby with one of said hitting faces in operative position rotation ofsaid shaft about its axis will move the other of said hitting faces intooperative position.

2. A golf club, comprising a head having first and second generallyrectangular hitting faces disposed on opposite sides thereof with theirlongitudinal axes transverse to each other, each of said hitting faceswhen it is in operative position having relatively elongated upper andlower edges and relatively short front and rear edges, first and secondgenerally trapezoidal sole faces having uninterrupted surfaces disposedon adjacent sides of said head, said first hitting face and first soleface being disposed on a pair of adjacent sides of said head and saidsecond hitting face and sole face being disposed on another pair ofadjacent sides of said head, a pair of the ends of said first sole faceterminating respectively along an elongated edge of said first hittingface and a short edge of said second hitting face and a pair of the endsof said second sole face terminating respectively along an elongatededge of said second hitting face and a short edge of said first hittingface, top and rear generally trapezoidal faces extending between saidhitting faces and disposed on another pair of adjacent sides of saidhead, and a shaft fixedly connected to said head and projecting upwardlyfrom the juncture of said top and rear faces whereby with one of saidhitting faces in operative position rotation of said shaft about itsaxis will move the other of said hitting faces into operative position.

3. The invention as set forth in claim 2 in which said shaft projectsupwardly from the juncture of said top and rear faces at a pointintermediate said first and second hitting faces.

- 4. The invention as set forth in claim 1 in which said first andsecond hitting faces have different angles of loft.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,336,405- 12/1943 Kent 273-168 X2,477,438 7/1949 Brouwer 273-79 2,962,286 11/1960 Brouwer 273-168 XFOREIGN PATENTS 13,307 1904 Great Britain.

ANTON O. OECHSLE, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R.

